The French Connection Tournament concluded the Buffalo Sabres development camp on Saturday. And in hindsight, camp left a lot of hope for the fan base.
It was the first development camp for the Buffalo Sabres in three seasons, and it was a memorable one. If you attended or tuned into the festivities, you were left feeling that, finally, the prospect pipeline is worth paying attention to. And we are talking about far more than just the first round picks from the 2022 NHL Draft.
But if you did not have time to catch camp or to view the highlights, today, I’ll be giving you a nice rundown summarizing what you missed. And while development camp is just that – a place for prospects to look good against others at their own level – odds are, you will feel a sense of optimism after reading this article.
Buffalo Sabres development camp: Takeaway #1 – Culture Change
At the end of this article, you will find a link to a piece by Mike Harrington of The Buffalo New outlining this culture change in further detail. Most notably, Harrington’s piece focused on Rochester Americans assistant coach, Michael Peca, and his remarks regarding a culture change. Here is a snippet of what Peca had to say:
"“And I know everybody that spoke in front of a microphone the second half of last year talked about the culture and the environment and how it’s just changed so much for the better. It’s carried over. And I think it’s just going to continue to build momentum. And everybody can feel it. It’s really exciting.” – Michael Peca, via The Buffalo News."
Harrington then stated the hope. But reading between Peca’s lines, it seems like a surefire thing that the success both the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans saw as last season came to a close will indeed carry over into September before the regular season commences in October.
The family-like atmosphere, something a few prospects like Devon Levi pointed out last week, is another reason behind the culture change. Optimism is thick in the Queen City. And while the Sabres still don’t project to win the Atlantic Division any time soon, it is clear they have a tight-knit group of prospects who want to be here.
And it all started with that shift toward the end of the 2021-22 season. But it is more than just optimism among the prospects and coaches because that optimism came with sheer talent attached to it. Let’s discuss…